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Standby power- the vampire in your home

8 February 2017

We all love a tip that can save you money and now there’s one small change you can make that can lower your energy usage too.

It all starts with a flick of a switch

Vampire power or phantom load is working behind the scenes to consume energy even when your appliances are turned off. So what is it? Also known as Standby power, it refers to the energy drawn down by an appliance when it’s not in use.

The impact of standby power functions on household bills cost Australian consumers a combined $860 million annually. By turning off appliances at the wall, you can save up to $100 per year.

As you can see, while the quarterly usage costs are not incredibly high, they do add up. It pays to shop around and check the star-rating of your appliances.

Building efficiency into products

Manufacturers are working to provide consumers with more choice. As a result of the star-rating Equipment Energy Efficiency program, power consumption is now built into products, improving overall energy use.

Director of Energy Efficient Strategies Lloyd Harrington explained this using a TV with 18 hours of standby as an example. "Most new televisions now have almost zero standby, because standby is now included in the [star-rating] label and so manufacturers get a reward if they improve that," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

In addition to the actual devices, there are a number of standby power controllers which automatically reduce the amount of time these devices spend in standby mode and switch appliances off when not in use.

Install a standby power controller. Check the energy rating of new appliances to see if standby power consumption is included.

Buy everyday-use appliances such as fridges based on lowest running costs and best performance

Check your energy-rating. Even though a device might have a low standby power cost, the overall energy efficiency when it’s turned on should also be taken into account.

Take the surprise out of bills by checking out Origin's Predictable Plan. With Predictable Plan, you can choose to pay your instalments fortnightly or monthly and even sync payments to the day you get paid. Payments are taken via direct debit, meaning you'll never need to worry about paying your bill on time.